The project, located about 15km from Orford, was first proposed in 2015 with council staff determining the details did not need to go before elected members.

However, in May last year the council received advice that construction on track had commenced without the proper approvals or engineering plans. The council had already poured tens of thousands of dollars at the time and faced a larger bill to rehabilitate the area.

On Tuesday, about eight months after work stopped on the trail, councillors voted to abandon its construction.

A motion to abandon the works that were undertaken during stage one of construction on the Buckland Walking Trail put forward by Councillor Grant Robinson.

It included a clause to rehabilitate the flora and fauna on the site as well as practicable to their original condition and that any future walking trails are considered in the context of an overall strategic plan.

"This issue has caused great angst in the Buckland community as we all know and I think we need to resolve it today," Cr Robinson said in defence of he motion.

"On a funding basis alone it will be cheaper to reinstate the land and flora as near as practicable to its original condition than to complete and maintain the walking track.

"Given the positive progress we have made as a council with the performance improvement directions, operational procedures and essential policy developments, I think we would be sending all of our communities the wrong message if we were to approve the completion of this poorly proposed development."

A council officer's report on the development found there were several risks associated with its completion - including the risk of flooding on the site, the risk of erosion in the area, safety risks with cutting into the bank on site and concerns about a lack of community consultation.

Councillor Rob Churchill said with the list of risks council now had the relevant information to justify its decision to the public. He said the motion worked well in terms of the community and environmental outcomes.

The motion was passed with six votes and one councillor abstaining.

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